Poached Eggs and Spam

WEATHER: For the next 24 hours, crews can expect 15-20 E’ly winds. As the remnant low left behind by Celia approaches, the wind will back to the NE. Having more wind should aid progress through the chop and help those teams struggling with strong adverse currents to push through the eddies they are experiencing.

STORM WATCH: Tropical Storm Celia is currently 1325 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii. Celia is currently moving over cool 24 degrees C waters, and although the waters could warm a little along the forecast track, they are expected to stay below 26 C. For this reason, the forecast shows Celia degenerating into a remnant low within 36 hours. A westward turn is expected in a day or two, when Celia becomes a shallow system and is steered by the low-level trade wind flow. The remnant low left behind is likely to persist for several days over the central Pacific reaching 22.9N 148.1W with maximum 30-40kts on Sunday.

Tropical Storm Darby has strengthened into the third hurricane of the year and is currently centered over 590 miles SSW of the southern tip of Baja California. Steady weakening is forecast to begin as the hurricane moves over 25-26 degrees C sea surface temperatures.

An area of showers and thunderstorms south of southern Mexico is likely develop into the next tropical system by this weekend. This system is expected to move WNW in a similar path to Celia and Darby.

We are down to less than 24 hours for the very anticipated arrival of Uniting Nations. The excitement is mounting here at the Waikiki Yacht Club as final preparations are being made to welcome this record breaking team back to shore. As of this writing, their estimated arrival time will be in the early hours of Thursday, July 14. Their arrival is subject to change and we will keep the website and social media updated.

We have been very pleased with the progress made by Team Ocean Hearts. Their 24 hour NM logged has increased as well as their speed. It appears they have almost broken free of the adverse current flow and will soon be making progress toward Hawaii. Like Uniting Nations, Team Ocean Hearts have their own record to beat, which is 45 days, 3 hours and 43 minutes. Will they beat it? Great Pacific Race Safety Officer Lia Ditton texted them these words of encouragement yesterday: “Patience & persistence – you are bound to be successful.”

Around the middle of the fleet, the team on Moana Uli Rowing have been enjoying “another beautiful day in paradise.” In an effort to get their minds of Christmas tunes and their limited music selection, we asked if they might be having any food cravings. While we thought they might have responded with pudding and Christmas Goose, they actually said in a surprised tone “Who would want anything other than a dehydrated meal??” We knew they were kidding and here was what their real answers were:

Brian: Butter and a Sunday Roast
Tim: Avocado and Poached Eggs
Greg: #Smash #Spam – the text came through with the hashtags!

With the story of Gary the Gull, we have also now learned of another hitch hiker who was trying to catch a ride with the girls on Fight the Kraken. Marilyn Jo Mullins, Vicki’s mom (also known as ‘Kraken Mom’) did the homework and discovered that their bird was a Frigate Bird. Here is her report from the Fight the Kraken Facebook page:

A ‘Frigate’ is a war ship, which was the source of travel for this certain bird known as the “Frigate Bird.” These birds are found in tropical and subtropical conditions, and are able to soar for weeks on wind currents. The girls are tired but doing well. The Frigate Birds were keeping them company. However, as entertaining and pretty as they were, they kept trying to eat the boat’s antennas.

Vicki and Megan are having other encounters as well. This morning they reported “Just checking in while dodging flying fish, dorado and a jumping marlin!” Sounds like quite the aquatic party.

A bit further ahead are Sons of the Pacific who have reported in with “perfect conditions – ENE winds and sunny.” Not only are Erden and Louis enjoying these ideal surroundings, but they are also making the most of it. They have done an incredible job of sneaking up on their nearest competitor. One week ago, on July 8th, they were 106 NM separating Sons of the Pacific from Row Aloha. We were amazed to see that as of today, only 32 NM separate these two teams. With a little more than 1/4 left in the race for both of these teams, there is certainly the possibility of a change in the leader board. Only time will tell.